United Nations

The Permanent Observer of the Holy See to the United Nations addressed this week the High Level Thematic Debate on Human Rights. Archbishop Bernardino Auza affirmed in the address that in order for talk of human rights to be effective and useful, there must be an understanding of where human rights come from in the first place. Moreover, the archbishop reminded, “the term ‘human right’ must be strictly and prudently applied, lest it become a rhetorical catch-all, endlessly expanded to suit the passing tastes of the age.”

The Permanant Observer of the Vatican to the United Nations gives account of recent terrorism and the role of religious leaders in countering terrorism. The recent Marrakesh Declaration is cited as example of efforts by religious leaders to repudiate, refute and rebut erroneous presentations of religious teachings which seek to recuit those symapthetic to false interpretations of religious teachings.

The High-level Thematic Debate on Achieving the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) took place on Thursday, 21 April 2016, at UN Headquarters in New York. Following opening keynote speeches, plenary convened throughout the day for national statements on the theme “Action at All Levels: National Implementation.” In the morning, two panels took place on the theme “Financing poverty eradication and sustainable development,” addressing successful frameworks and strategies for financing SDGs and the paradigm shift towards low carbon societies, and enhancing international cooperation in tax and financial matters.

UNITED NATIONS – Pakistan has called for action to combat the forces of Islamophobia and warned that if timely steps are not taken to check this disturbing trend, it could threaten regional and global peace and security. The Pakistan Ambassador to the United Nations organised a side event at the UN on occasion of World Interfaith Harmony Week.

Extreme poverty was ended for more than one billion people through efforts under the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs), according to the final edition of the MDGs Report. The 2015 report highlights achievements in access to drinking water, universal primary education, child and maternal health, gender equality and eliminating hunger, among others. However, the report also underscores the need for more work as part of the post-2015 development agenda and the proposed Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) to ensure that the poorest and most vulnerable people are not left behind.

Today I can share with you significant work done within the United Nations itself, which I have been privileged to be involved in, and which has produced, among many other joint endeavours and even some paradigm shifts, a mechanism within the UN, which is the Inter-Agency Task Force on Engaging with Faith Based organizations for Sustainable Development (IATF-FBOs) told Dr Azza Karam to the UN Special Event on World Interfaith Harmony: Multi-religious Partnership for Sustainable Development.

The interfaith movement is a rich mosaic of efforts, ranging from theological discourse to practical coalitions. Some interreligious harmony work is built on ethereal, ethical, and theological foundations. And some is grounded in an earthy, urgent common interest or in response to a crisis or threat, said Katherine Marshall to the UN Special Event on World Interfaith Harmony: Multi-religious Partnership for Sustainable Development.

The term ‘Interfaith Dialogue’ refers to the positive and cooperative interaction between people of different religious faiths and spiritual beliefs, with the aim of promoting understanding between different religions to increase acceptance and tolerance. The power of religion can be used as a major force of unification among divergent factions and hence it can plays key role in the promotion of global peace and reconciliation by bringing various groups together, said Dr Uma Mysorekar at the UN Special Event, on World Interfaith Harmony: Multi-religious Partnership for Sustainable Development.

Your Excellencies, distinguished panel of religious representatives, ladies and gentlemen, It is an honor to be seated with you on this panel. My dear brothers and sisters, For too many years, we have talked but not acted. For too many years we have heard the disenfranchised calling out in pain and suffering, and, so far, we have only handed out Band-Aids. For too many of us these serve as metaphors for our own lives, were the words of Rabbi Roger Ross to the UN Special Event on World Interfaith Harmony: Multi-religious Partnership for Sustainable Development.

I bring you fraternal greetings from the country of Sierra Leone. I wish to thank you all with a special reference to the UN for your tremendous moral, human and financial contribution to our country particularly at this time, for the eradication of the dreadful disease called Ebola, said Rev. Dr Usman J Fornah of Sierra Leone to the UN Special Event on World Interfaith Harmony: Multi-religious Partnership for Sustainable Development.